Complex electronic equipment which uses semiconductor technology relies heavily on electrical interconnection systems for interconnecting a pair of printed circuit boards. A printed circuit board typically includes a relatively rigid substrate having a circuit pattern printed thereon and mounting a plurality of circuit devices. This subassembly, in turn, is mounted within a larger apparatus and electrically connects a wide variety of other components or modules.
Electrical connectors are used to relatively mount and interconnect a pair of circuit boards in a variety of configurations or orientations. For instance, an electrical connector may be mounted on a main printed circuit board, often called a "mother" board, and the connector receives a "daughter" board in an edge-wise configuration. In some configurations, a pair of circuit boards are interconnected in a generally coplanar relationship. In fact, some electrical connector assemblies allow for the pivoting of one board relative to the other board at adjacent edges of the boards. With circuit boards that are interconnected in an edge-wise, coplanar arrangement, it would be desirable to allow for interconnection of the boards in a direction generally perpendicular to the boards. Otherwise, if the boards are interconnected in the plane of their eventual coplanar configuration, considerable space is required in the larger apparatus for moving the boards together in a single planar area.
In addition, electrical connectors for interconnecting a pair of circuit boards often are complex and expensive, involving one type of connector (such as a male or plug connector) mounted to one of the circuit boards, and still another type of connector (such as a receptacle connector) mounted on the other circuit board. It would be desirable to provide a simple hermaphroditic electrical connector that can be mounted on both circuit boards and still provide for interconnecting movement generally perpendicular to the eventual coplanar boards. The present invention is directed to satisfying these needs and solving the various problems involved in the design of simple and inexpensive electrical connectors for interconnecting printed circuit boards.